Working Your Way Up

For amatuer soccer players, signing a professional contract is the next step. That step is often hard to reach for most players, especially in the American soccer pyramid. If you don’t belong to a development academy, MLS academy or don’t place among the best collegiate players, the path to professional soccer can be the biggest leap for a talented player. But for those players who grind daily and continue to evolve their game, the professional opportunity may present itself.

Recently the Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship announced the signings of multiple players from the lower leagues. I had to opportunity to interview Eric Gonzalez, who played for Cal FC of the UPSL and the Riverside Coras FC of the NPSL, about signing a professional contract with the Lights.

How does it feel to sign a professional contract with the Las Vegas Lights FC?

It's an amazing feeling to sign a professional contract with the Las Vegas Lights FC.  I'm so happy to be here and thankful that they gave me this opportunity to achieve this dream I've had since I first started playing soccer at four years old.  I'm ready to give it my all for the club and this city!

Eric started the 2018 season with the Coras where he played as a center midfielder. His vision and passing ability allowed him to help control tempo and find the right penetrating pass. He became a staple with the Coras and played majority of the matches. Once the fall season hit, Eric moved to Cal FC where he was deputized as the starting left back and played every match. Cal FC went on to dominate the UPSL SoCal North Pro Premier and Eric’s passing prowess helped his club earn result after result.

How has your previous play in the UPSL and NPSL helped you prepare for this moment?

My previous play in the UPSL and NPSL really helped me get to this point in my career. I was just playing in the UPSL with Cal FC before coming to Vegas and it helped me earn playing time against great competition. Basically, these two leagues gave me opportunities in playing at a high level.  Both of these leagues are great leagues to be playing in if you're looking to play at the professional level.

Not only did Eric Gonzalez play, he also coached at Jurupa Valley High School and helped his kids understand high level soccer and the commitment it takes to one day play professional. His kids were well drilled and he always focused on teaching his team in the moment. While his Varsity and JV squads earned results, they also learned various nuances of playing the game. If a player made a mistake in a game, he would coach them and motivate them to play properly.

You also coached High School soccer, what message have you relayed to your kids?

Unfortunately, I had to let go of my High School team as I made my way over here, but one thing I've always told them is to never give up on their dreams, whatever that may be.  If they have these dreams, then through: hard work, dedication, and sacrifice they can achieve their dreams. Most importantly I told them to never give up.

This next step in Eric’s career is a big one, that can hopefully propel him on to the next journey. His career progress should be an example that lower league clubs strive for. Sure, the ultimate goal for any club is to one day move up in this broken U.S. Soccer pyramid, but, until that day, moving players and personnel up should be the main priority. A move like Eric’s shows the importance of lower league clubs and that not only has me excited, but Eric as well.

What excites you most about living in Las Vegas and playing in the USL Championship?

So far, I've been really excited about the different types of food here. I live 5-10 minutes from Chinatown where they have a different variety of Asian cuisines that I've been trying before preseason started. I'm also really excited to be playing in the USL Championship. I'm looking forward to the competition, the new experiences of being in the USL, and getting an opportunity to get better on this great team!

The lower tier leagues have continued to show their ability to prepare players for the next level. Whether it’s domestic or abroad there are many opportunities available for hard working and talented players like Eric Gonzalez. I look forward to seeing the progress of his career and the progress of the other players, like Eric,  who continue to move into the professional ranks.

- Steven Ramirez

Going On Fifty: Riverside Coras FC 2019 Introductory Press Conference

Stability for a lower league club is always in question. The United States Soccer Federation has continually ignored the teams within the lower tiers of U.S. Soccer and this has forced the closing of many great soccer clubs. Soccer history is being washed away with the sands of time and few clubs offer a true soccer history that predates MLS. While I can’t speak to the tradition and history for all clubs, I can speak for one: my club, the Riverside Coras Football Club.

On December 29th, 2018, the Coras held their 2019 introductory press conference. A lot of work went into this operation. Over the course of ten days, including the holidays, the staff and I went into a frenzy to prepare for this occasion. We found a home for our fans, gathered our videographers, promoted the event and put together one of the best looking presentations I have seen within the lower leagues, all for the cost of hard work and a few appetizers for our guests. We managed to pack the conference room with squad members, fans, partners and media members, all for this game we call local soccer.

This conference was more than just an introduction to the season. We discussed our history, our new coaching staff and what to expect in 2019, our 50th season. The Coras have a rich and vibrant history that will continue to develop each and every year and this press conference displayed the professionalism and passion that would make any lower league fan happy to call this team their own.

A Professional Expectation

With Founders Cup and NPSL Pro on the horizon, professionalism within the NPSL has become a huge topic. While my club doesn’t hold the budget to go pro within the next few years, we do everything in our power to present the best product to our fans and the other team owners within the league.

During the process of planning we discovered a hidden gem of a restaurant, La Casa Ortega, which is now the future hub of all social activity for the club. It’s half a mile away from our new stadium and offers a bar, conference room, traditional seating, and a meeting room perfect for future live shows. For this initial event we managed to bring in over fifty people to help celebrate the occasion. To shoot the event we had three cameras, three mics, and a switch board that provided an incredible live experience for our fans at home. The event was unlike anything I have seen in the NPSL.

The whole event lasted over two hours and gave fans plenty of opportunities to mingle with all of the Coras family. It was the perfect event to start our 50th season.

Honoring the Dream

The dream began in 1969 when owner Robert Lopez-Guardado’s father and uncles immigrated to Los Angeles after their playing careers ended in Mexico. With the passion of the sport still coursing through their veins, they created Coras de Los Angeles and began play in the California League. The club remained active and wouldn’t move to Riverside, CA until 2013. That October Riverside Coras FC would host its first tryout. Destiny would have her hand in play as both Shane Shelton and Jimmy Ross would walk onto the field, taking their first steps into the legendary status with the club.

“I still remember in October of 2013 we hosted tryouts at Riverside Community Park. That’s where I met Shane and Jimmy for the first time. Besides being talented players they also had the qualities to be great leaders and great captains. Since day one they were our co-captains. For them to move up and become our coaching staff, it only made sense. They are local players, they have been in the community since childhood, they went to school out here, they are both students from La Sierra University and they are pretty much a part of our family and so we are very excited to have them continue to grow within our program.”

— Robert Lopez-Guardado

Joining the Coras has been like joining a big family. I’ve been welcomed with open arms and continue to be taught different lessons about growing a club. After attending the games last year, I could see that family atmosphere. Robert would consistently make his way through the crowd greeting almost every person in the stadium and he made time with everyone. Understanding the history of our club is important and you can tell by the passion that is displayed on and off the field. The Coras have twelve volunteers on staff and even more that help pitch in on gameday. While the originators of this club want to see success on the field, they are all proud of environment created by each staff member, player, and fan. That is how we honor the dream set so long ago.

“We want to do something special in the Summer. We want to invite the pioneers of Coras de Los Angeles. Those that are still with us, we want to invite them to come out and host an event to honor them. We want to let them know that we are here to continue to keep their dream alive, the dream that began in 1969.”

A New Coaching Staff for a New Era

One thing I have always preached is that any business should always develop a pipeline of promotion. For the Coras that means sending players to greater playing opportunities, helping volunteers take their careers to the next level, and even having team captains become coaches. While Shane Shelton and Jimmy Ross have helped coach the youth of Riverside, coaching in the NPSL is at a whole different level. A level I, and both Shane and Jimmy feel they are ready for.

Their first task was hosting the first tryout to help try and find the right local talent to put on the field.

“We had close to fifty kids trying out. A bunch of talent. We want a bunch of young kids and I thought we had a solid group of boys come out and we have invited most of them to come back out to the first practice on January 3rd. We are in talks of bringing back a few players who have experience at the NPSL level, because it’s a different monster than what most of the kids [trying out] have played against in the past. So we are trying to find the right blend of young, hungry players with older, experienced guys to help mentor our younger players throughout the season.”

— Shane Shelton, Head Coach and General Manager

Now that the player selection process is well underway, the coaching staff has taken to implementing our identity. An identity that not only defines the club, but the community that it resides in.

“We have always been a gritty, hungry, passionate blue-collar team. We represent the community in that aspect, but I think we have moved away from that in the past couple of years. That is something we are really looking for in the players we are bringing into the squad this year,” says Shane Shelton.

“We have been a part of the Coras since day one. We paid to be in that first tryout at the community park. We have seen a lot of players come and go, we have seen new coaches and have basically seen it all with the Coras. I think we have a really grounded foundation of what has been successful in the past. We need to bring in a young talented group of guys that are willing to buy into a system. It’s not always the best players who win, but the hungriest and I think we have that here,” added Jimmy Ross, assistant coach and team manager.

All that’s left for coach Shane and Jimmy is to prepare their squad for the upcoming season. This year in the NPSL South West eleven teams will fight it out over twenty match days, beginning in February. The goal is to make it back to the NPSL playoffs this season, but what is more important is creating a culture within the club. A culture that promotes hard work, teamwork and a pathway to the next level of a player’s career. A path that our new coaching staff has walked before.

- Steven Ramirez

Riverside County Cup 2018: A Champion Is Crowned

It seems like I have been preaching about the Riverside County Cup for a whole year now, but in reality it has just been an action packed month and a half. It started out with four clubs and quickly transitioned to three after unforeseen circumstances knocked the Riverside Coras Football Club out of the competition. The event marched on though and three markets collided to try to become champions of this prestigious event. The tournament changed from a bracket to a round robin style tournament featuring Temecula FC (NPSL), Toros Neza USA (UPSL) and City Legends FC (UPSL). But the tournament itself went through an evolution since the inaugural event in 2017, when the competition was settled between two NPSL rivals: Temecula FC and Riverside Coras FC.

This year's installment of the competition was settled after four matches and 22 goals. The Quails created an atmosphere for each match in this competition and showed the potential of regional soccer tournaments.

Match One:

Temecula FC 2, Toros Neza USA 1

The first match of the competition kicked off at TFC's home stadium, Chapparel High School. The atmosphere was incredible: music was pumping, fans were shouting, and the stadium was draped in signs showing support of their home club.

The action on the field warranted this special event. The tempo was fast paced while both teams looked to open each other up on the counterattack. In the first half, the Quails looked for the long ball and targeted the Toros left back from the get go. Temecula's multiple attacks at the Toros left back would lead to the first card of the match, in the 18th minute. Toros Neza tried to fight out of its own half, but was allowed little time on the ball. The first goal came in the 36th minute after a corner from the Quails. The first half was all TFC, as the Toros Neza attack was forced to shoot from bad angles, thirty plus yards out.

Once the second half started, it looked like control had switched from TFC to Toros Neza, as the Bulls piled on attempt after attempt. Toros Neza's passing became sharper and more accurate; it began to control the midfield and dictate tempo. This new passing mentality forced Temecula to have its once strong positional structure become dismantled as each player scrambled trying to force a turnover. Then, in the 75th minute, Toros Neza tied it up off a corner of its own. The game was on and the TFC backline became aggressive, stopping plays in the midfield and driving into the opponent's box. It was that aggression that helped unhinge Toros Neza and in the 90th minute. TFC scored, earning three points in front of its home crowd.

“Hats off to the Toros, they came out and played a great game. We were just a little better today, we had it all connected from our forwards to our mids and to our back. All around it was a great game and I look forward to the next one.”

-Man of the Match, Justin Picou of Temecula FC

Match Two:

City Legends FC 2, Temecula FC 3

The second match fell on October 13th, which is Non-League Day. Non-League Day is a day that celebrates the soccer being played in the small communities around the world, the communities that don't earn millions off broadcasting deals. These communities participate in the sport because they love it and gives their community an opportunity to create something unique; for the community, by the community.

City Legends came out quick in this first match. It used its fullbacks to apply pressure inside the midfield and forced plenty of turnovers from Temecula FC. The size difference became apparent early on and the Quails began to look for opportunities to find the heads of their tall attackers. At about the 25 minute mark, possession began to favor Temecula but the Quails still had problems breaking down the CLFC back line. After 35 minutes and a couple of huge saves from the City Legends keeper, TFC found itself on the board from a screaming shot into the top corner. Initially the aggressive CLFC fullbacks helped destroy plays, but the playstyle began to leave their backline open which led to many chances for the Quails attack.

The second half kicked off and it looked like City had begun to make some offensive progress through dribbling. The City attack was winning one-on-one duels, but just couldn't find the final pass. TFC began to sit and focus on playing defensively and countering when opportunities presented themselves. In the 72nd minute, TFC scored its second, then turned around and grabbed another in the 78th minute. The transition was killing City, but it was not done-for. Legends would put in two goals back-to-back: one headed ball after a scramble in the box and then a shot from outside the box in the 83rd. Their comeback would fall short as they couldn't grab a third and TFC picked up its second victory.

Match Three:

Toros Neza USA 2, Temecula FC 3

For the third match, Toros Neza USA welcomed the Quails to Grand Terrace High School and the Dirty Birds (TFC supporters group) followed. In the first half the Quails took a lead of 2-1 against the fighting Toros. Temecula FC would go on to seal the victory with a scoreline of 3-2.

Match Four:

Temecula FC 8, City Legends FC 1

With a win, the Quails would seal up their second straight Riverside County Cup. With a couple more weeks of UPSL play, City Legends propelled itself into first place within its division and had been playing strong soccer, earning results against top clubs within the division. But this second match against NPSL competition proved to be too much for City. The stadium was packed and the crowd was itching for the victory.

City played this game in the 4-2-3-1 formation and used the double-pivot to help seal up the midfield and offer more defensive solidity; a change from its normal 4-3-3 in which it would often only employ one defensive midfielder whose main focus wasn't to help the defense. This defensive tactic used by City forced TFC to send multiple numbers forward, often using five attackers to receive long passes from deep within midfield. The match wouldn't carry on too long without a goal. TFC claimed its first in the eleventh minute after a long diagonal pass found the left winger open in space. After receiving it, he sent in a long cross towards the back post, scoring the first goal. The early goal allowed the Quails to sit back and possess the ball in their own half while they waited for the City defense to open up. TFC would go on to score two more in the first half, while City was able to grab one in the 26th minute off a beautiful free kick on top of the TFC box.

In the second half Temecula would rain down five more goals and showed complete dominance in the match. Temecula had identified a weakness at the back post on crosses and scored seven of its eight goals from that tactic. Legends never adapted to Temecula's gameplan and the Quails continued to be relentless.

I caught up with Temecula FC’s head coach, Austin Levins, after the match.

Your team found the back post with almost every goal. Was that part of the instruction from you or was it something the players figured out on the pitch?

“We've been working a lot in the last few weeks on combination play and opening up with explosive speed. I think that was reflective with how the guys played today. We opened up chances at the last second and we were ready to pounce on it and hit it first time. Unfortunately for City Legends they caught the tail end of that and they've been punished by it today. Credit to them, they kept going to the final whistle.”

How does it feel to win the second ever Riverside County Cup?

“We are absolutely delighted. The guys played their hearts out. We worked very hard in training to change a few things from the NPSL season. We looked at our formation, who we had involved and redefined a few roles. They've done their club proud, they've done their community proud and we had great support. It's been a great four games. It just goes to show what the power of the game can be sometimes. Hopefully there are more clubs that want to be involved next year and we grow this tournament to be what it can be, it has shown the best of what's in Riverside County. Hopefully next year the tournament is even bigger and better and make it three in a row.”

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For the second year in a row Temecula wins the Riverside County Cup. After the win the crowd in the stadium was ecstatic. The supporters came onto the field singing “Campeones! Campeones!” The Dirty Birds managed to save a few smoke bombs to let off  and filled the field with red and black smoke. It was an event that the community was proud to be a part of.

This regional tournament has shown that it can be something for the community and not just the teams playing on the pitch. Neighboring communities have the opportunity to build rivalries against other clubs giving fans more to cheer about. The dream of the Riverside County Cup is to include all amateur teams in the area. It will continue develop passion and give young players the opportunity to play in the very same competition they watched. Local soccer is all about pride and community, two things that were on display during these matches.

- Steven Ramirez